Douluo Dalu: Lucky Star

The massive body of the Deep Sea Demon Whale King trembled violently, causing the surrounding waves to churn rapidly. It wasn't just from anger but also pain. The arrows Han Li had shot into its body were rampaging within, battling ultimate attributes against ordinary ones, divine power against soul power, resulting in complete domination. Despite the Deep Sea Demon Whale King's desperate attempts to block the attacks, it was helpless against the arrows. Wherever the arrows passed, its body—just one step away from reaching divine rank—began to necrotize in large areas, leaving behind traces of charred flesh and eroded ice elements. If not for the sheer size of its body, that single attack could have left it severely injured.

However, this wasn't the first time the Deep Sea Demon Whale King faced such a situation. During its battle with the Sea God years ago, the latter stages had been similar—it had even lost an eye during that time. Now, it was merely history repeating itself. Thus, it decisively severed the part of its body where the arrow was lodged, using soul power to hurl it into the air, along with the arrow still wreaking havoc inside, and detonated it. At the same time, its tail struck the ocean surface with tremendous force, launching a fan-shaped torrent of seawater infused with water and lightning elements at Han Li with astonishing speed.

Hearing Han Li's words, the Demon Whale King immediately realized it had been tricked. Its reaction was swift—it understood it could no longer endure Han Li's attacks with its physical body; doing so would only lead to a slow death. In an instant, as the attack was launched, blue light burst forth from the ocean. The massive whale form disappeared, replaced by a burly, three-meter-tall, deep blue-haired, one-eyed middle-aged man. His remaining eye gleamed with murderous intent.

"You dare deceive me!"

A furious roar echoed across the entire sea.

"Well, who told you to be so gullible? To your credit, your reaction was pretty quick," Han Li teased from a distance. The attack launched by the Demon Whale King in its fit of rage was easily neutralized—Han Li merely extended the Icefire Dragon God Bow before him. Given that his physical capabilities were already at the standard, Han Li's martial soul had essentially become a divine artifact, constantly nurtured by divine power, faith, and the power of rules. To put it bluntly, Han Li could simply throw his martial soul out, and it might still be enough to kill a Title Douluo. Take, for example, elders like Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo—though it might seem disrespectful to use them as examples, the truth is undeniable.

"Damn humans! You're as shameless as the Sea God!"

Across from Han Li, the Demon Whale King, still clutching its lower back awkwardly, continued to bleed into the sea. Its earlier decisive action had indeed been swift but also crude—it had essentially hacked off its flesh using a water blade. Such a wound wouldn't heal quickly.

"Thank you for the compliment," Han Li replied with a smile, his gaze falling on the dark purple armor covering the Demon Whale King. Energy armor—this was indeed the best proof of its nearing divine rank. Even the three original legendary figures couldn't achieve this. First, their total and quality of soul power weren't sufficient; second, they could not fully assimilate the soul bones they absorbed, making them entirely part of their soul power and completely under their control. Ironically, soul beasts held an advantage in this regard, as they didn't absorb soul bones. However, even for them, this was rare—soul beasts preferred to enhance their physical strength, and unless that was already perfected, the cost-effectiveness of such techniques wasn't very high. Take Di Tian, for example. He couldn't achieve this. Then again, Di Tian had a powerful enough bloodline that left him much room for improvement. This, however, highlighted just how terrifying the Deep Sea Demon Whale King truly was. Having reached its limits, it had sought every possible means of enhancement. Its mastery of both water and lightning rules, honed through innate talent and endless years, had progressed nearly halfway—no wonder even Bo Saixi could only suppress it with the power of the Sea God. This creature, if not for the restrictions of the divine realm, truly had the potential to become a deity.

Compared to it, the fearsome beasts under Di Tian were not even in the same league. Even Di Tian himself only held an advantage in lineage and bloodline. Unfortunately, the Deep Sea Demon Whale King could never take that final step. As for Han Li, his rapid growth and direct access to a shortcut through Gu Yue had already allowed him to bypass that step entirely. He made a mental note: it might be worth suggesting to the elders without divine inheritances that energy armor could be a worthwhile direction to explore after condensing a soul core. Not only would it help refine their control but also align them more closely with the rules—a useful cultivation direction, though it wouldn't help him much. At the very least, it could keep them occupied—better than having them idle around. Additionally, training in this method could aid in developing soul techniques. Once Han Li altered the rules in the future, the concept of soul techniques would no longer exist. The Spirit Hall would need to maintain its edge, and those elders formed its foundation. It wouldn't make sense for Han Li to handle everything himself, would it?

Seeing Han Li remain unbothered by his verbal attacks, the Deep Sea Demon Whale King grew even angrier. However, he dared not attack recklessly. He wasn't sure how many more times Han Li could launch such devastating attacks, and he needed time for his wounds to heal. Noticing Han Li's gaze on his armor, the Demon Whale King let him look as long as he wanted. He recalled how even the Sea God had been unable to wield divine power at will when he reached this stage. While his soul power lacked the same quality, its sheer volume was his confidence. Deep down, he still believed he could outlast his opponent. As for Qian Daoliu and Ye Lingling hovering in the sky, he paid them no mind. Their reluctance to engage was proof they dared not approach.

"This armor of mine was crafted to mimic that shameless Sea God's soul power armor. As long as my soul power doesn't run out, it will never disappear. Next time, your sneak attacks won't work so easily!" The Deep Sea Demon Whale King swiftly gathered its soul power at its lower back, covertly healing its injuries while attempting to draw Han Li's attention with its armor. Han Li glanced at him with a peculiar expression.

Does he think I won't notice that he's secretly healing? And, oh, how polite he is.

Though the Deep Sea Demon Whale King kept attacking Poseidon, it still respectfully addressed him as "Sea God," albeit with a less-than-pleasant prefix. What kind of Douluo Continent eunuch is this? Does he want to step back too? Actually,

If we exclude outsiders like Gu Yue and Di Tian, his death would indeed signify a setback of 200,000 years—or more—for the soul beast clan. Even Snow Empress, who hasn't reached 700,000 years, would have to take the lead. As for the whale's wife, the Demon Empress, Han Li hadn't detected her presence in the nearby sea regions. She'd likely fled to the Sun-Moon Continent. Han Li wasn't inclined to search for her. After all, my surname isn't Cao, nor is it Tang. I'm not particularly interested in the Soul Beast clan.

"Really? I don't believe you," Han Li said with a faint smile, placing his right hand back on the bowstring. In terms of power, he far surpassed his opponent, but he wasn't the type to let an enemy fully recover before attacking again. If he's so confident in his energy armor, let's see how much it can withstand. Han Li had yet to test the full power of his newly upgraded Ice-Fire Dragon God Bow, now a divine weapon. This seemed like a good opportunity.

Scarlet, pure white, and pale red arrows formed on his martial soul, firing in a triangular formation at the Deep Sea Demon Whale King with astonishing speed. He used only his soul power and the abilities of his martial soul, without invoking his soul rings or the power of laws. Yet, as the arrows were released, he noticed subtle differences compared to before. The arrows still primarily embodied ice and fire elements, but even without actively channeling the laws he had mastered, their power was passively imbued into the attack. Surprisingly, this added force didn't consume any extra energy.

"As expected. Only this level of performance deserves to be called a divine weapon," Han Li muttered in satisfaction, a smile spreading across his face. Once he formally condensed his godhood, the Ice-Fire Dragon God Bow—still partially bound to his martial soul—would undergo another enhancement. With more rules layered onto it, a super divine weapon might just be the beginning. At that point, the bow would be named Fate, and his blade, Two Element. Who said a super divine weapon could only take one form? Han Li's mind wandered as he launched the attack, but the Deep Sea Demon Whale King, facing the three arrows, scrambled in a panic. This time, Han Li didn't conceal the aura of his attack. From the three arrows, the Demon Whale King sensed an overwhelming aura of death. In his perception, the power of each arrow rivaled a full-force attack from Poseidon back in their battles. How could this be so absurd?! He wanted to scream, but the arrows didn't give him the chance. Frenziedly, he mobilized all his soul power to reinforce the defense of his armor and tried to use seawater to shield himself. But it was futile. The arrows were too fast. The seawater couldn't even get close before either freezing into ice and sinking or evaporating instantly. The Demon Whale King could only watch helplessly as the three arrows struck his armor while he barely managed to turn slightly.

The scarlet arrow exploded right before his eyes. The pure white arrow followed, hitting him and further slowing his movements. Desperate to survive, he poured massive amounts of soul power into dispelling the divine power contained within the attacks, but he couldn't prevent his armor from dissolving layer by layer. Finally, when only a thin layer of armor remained, the divine power of the arrows was neutralized. He let out a breath of relief. But then, a sharp pain erupted in his abdomen. In his exhaustion from blocking the first two arrows, he had completely forgotten about the pale red one. Looking down, he saw a bowl-sized hole in his abdomen. The wound had no blood; one side was charred black, while the other was eerily white. Through the hole, he could see the seawater behind him. The pale red arrow, after piercing through his body, plunged into the sea and annihilated a massive amount of water, creating a clear pathway to the seabed. Within the vacuum created by the arrow's passage, the surrounding seawater seemed momentarily frozen in time, unable to rush in to fill the gap. One second later, an explosion sounded from the seabed, and layers of undercurrents surged upward. He heard the roar of the waves. The gap left by the arrow was finally filled with seawater, and the splashes landed on his single, downcast eye, making it look as though he were crying.